Brake-beam



- (No Model.) 2 Sheets.-Sheet 1.

- H. L. PRESTON. BRAKE BEAM.

No. 396,383. Patented Jan. 15, 1889.

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.I Bv? IIQH e w Q (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. L. PRESTON. BRAKE BEAM.

Patented Jain. 15,

UNITED STATES ATENT Tries.

HARVEY L. PRESTON, 0F HUDSON, WISCONSIN.

ERKE-BEAM.

S'PECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,383, dated January 15, 1889.

Application filed March 26, 1888.

son, in the county of St. Croix and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brakedeams; and I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make' and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings7 and to the letters and iguresof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to brake-beams for use upon railway-cars of every description, the constructive material of which is entirely metal, as iron, steel, or both.

rlhe beam consists, mainly, or two rods of any suitable or desired form in cross-section,

supported at their middle point in bearings' branching from the fulcrum-bar upon which the brake-lever is mounted and spread sufficiently at the bearingpoint to secure the requisite vertical sti iiness for the brake-beam. Mounted in a suitable bearing at the opposite extremity of the fulcrum-bar, which thus becomes a strut for supporting and retaining the several rods, is a truss-rod the length of the strut, and consequently the distance bewith a nut, by means ot which the sleeve is brought into proper position and retained, while the two main rods terminate within the sleeve, abutting against a shoulder formed therein by the termination of the portion of the triple socket in which they are held,

whereby the tightening of the nut on the end' of the truss-rod canibers the main rods sufficiently to accommodate the face ot the brakeshoe to the coning of the tread of the wheel.

Serial No. 268,483. (No model.)

The points of invention consist, generally,

in the construction andarrangement ot thel parts. Fig. 2 is an upper side view of. the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an inner end view ot' the sleeve Aand the manner in which the brake beam and head are held in place by the hanger. Fig. 4L is a detail view of the triple sleeve in position upon the rods; Fig. 5, a longitudinal section of the sleeve in planes indicated by the line 5 5 in Fig. 3; Fig. 6, an outer end viewof the sleeve and the flange cap or washer for retaining the brake-head in place; Fig. 7 a detail view of the bearings branching from` the end of the strut in which the two' main 'rods are mounted; and Fig. 8, a cross-section. of the beam, showing the forni and position. of the clamps for attaching the safety-hanger.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all of the gures.

In the drawings, A A represent the main rods, and B the truss-rod, mounted in bearings a a and b, respectively, formed on the opposite extremities of the strut C. The brakeiever l) is mounted in a'slot, c, formed longi-v tudinally in the strut C, and is fulcrumed therein by means ot a bolt or pin, d, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7 passing through it and the sides of the strut. The bearings a t branch outwardly in each direction from the e 1d of the strut to any desired. extent, in order that the rods A A may be sufficiently separated to act each as a truss lfor the other to maintain the requisite vertical stiffness 0f the beam'in a vertical direction, while the length of the strut may be as great as required in order that the rod B on each side of its bearing at the end of the strut may have a sufficiently bracing position to withstand any ordinary strain that may be applied in the di-l rection of the length of the strut by means of the brake-lever D. Y

The rods A A are straight except. as they are sprung together at each end for attach- IOO - the interior of the sleeve to give as extended a bearing as possible for the rods within the socket and yet leave a sufcient depth of mav ingthe sleeve E. each direction from its bearing-point l) toward the ends of the rods A A, and at a point near the ends of the same is bent slightly in the opposite direction, so that its extremities assume a position substantially parallel to the direction of the rods A A. The ends oi the three rods are hunched together and rc- 'tained by means of a sleeve, E, which is formed 4be secured in. place by a suitable key or other locking device.

The rods A A extend only partially thro'iigh the sleeve, and the portions of the triple socket e in which they are held terminate in an upright shoulder, f, against which the ends ot' the two rods' abut, this shoulder f be'- ing formed, preferably, near the outer end of terial behind the shoulder to withstand the longitudinal strain when the nut G .is tightened on the rod l.

Upon the inner end of the sleeve E is formed an outwardly-pro j ecting flange, g, and against the flange and projecting outwardly from the surface .of the sleev'e is a V-shaped lug, h,

. adapted to be received within a corresponding recess formed within the hanger H, passing.

around the sleeve, by means of which the beam is retained in properlposition by the hanger. The inner edge of the hanger lits closely against the flange g, and the beam is thus prevented from any endwise vdisplamement which would tend to throw the brake-head out of proper position with reference to the tread of the wheels, the V-shaped lug h'being so located with reference to the hanger as to hold the vbeam so that theA truss-rod extends horizontally forward from the main rods in the line of the greatest strain. The outer end of the sleeve beyond the hanger forms a seatfor the brake-head1, the inside of. which abuts against the hanger 1I, and is held in proper position in relation thereto by means of a lug, i, projecting from the side of the' brake-head, which is engaged by'a strap, j, attached to the front side of the hanger, By this means the head is prevented from rocking or fallin g forward upon its seat and thus allowing the shoe to' become unevenly worn by contact with-the wheels .when not'in use, while the flange g prevents the disengagement of the lug 'L' from the strap j, thus securing the brakehead in position and ypreventing any rocking in either direction,

The truss-rod B is bent in The length lof the sleeve. E is such that when the head I is in place the outer end of the sleeve is flush with the outer edge of the head, and for the purpose of retaining t-he head in this position a flangev cap or washer, F, isprovid ed of a larger diameter than the sleeve, and which when in position forms a flange ex tending outwardly beyond all sides of the end ot' the sleeve, and thus prevcuisthe head l from sliding away from the hanger and allowing the lug li to become disengaged from'the strap The flange-cap F has an aperture, 7.-, through which the end of the rod B passes, and a feather, l, formed across the inside face of the tlangecap, fits in a corresponding groove, fm, vformed across the end face of the sleeve and allows it to be removed when necessary.

By tightening the nuts G on cach end ot' the rod B the proper camber is given to the rods A A to adapt the face of the shoes to the eoning of-the tread of the wheels,the rod passing through the sleeve at one side of the center, and the rods A A abutting against the shoulder fin the socket at the other side of the center, 'it follows that the tightening ot' the nut G tends to spring the ends of the Arods A A- in the direction of' the rod B, and the face of the shoe is thus brought parallel with the tread of the wheel.

For attaching a safety-hanger to prevent the falling of the beam if the hanger Il should for any cause fail to furnish a proiper support, two clamp-plates, n fn, are used, ent at each extremity to grasp the rods A. A and B, respectively, and held in place by an eyebolt, o, passing through both plates, to the eye of which is attached the safety-chain p.

rlhe outer surface of the sleeve may be of any desired form to suit any of the several shoe.'

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By the above-described construction a brake-beam is produced of great strength, moderate weight,'and at small expense, and the several parts ca n be pnt together without Blacksmithing. If any part becomes worn, it can be replaced without other tools than a wrench, and with but a small loss of time. Every partis of metal, usually wroughtfiron for the rods and malleable iron for the other parts. rlhe truss-rod can be bent sufficiently for the purpose without heating, and the main rods are sprung into place without previous bending.

I claim as my inventionl 1. A brake-beam consisting .of a 11e-bar composed of two, rods separated at their middle point, a double-,inclined truss-rod, a sleeve uniting the said three rods at their eXtremities, the said sleeve forming bearings adapted to receive a hanger and brake -head, and means, substantially as described, for adjustably canibering said tie-rods to incline said sleeve-bearings to a greater or less angle from the lol Oitudinal line of the beam.

2. A bra ebeam lconsisting of a tie-bar composed of two rods separatedat-ther mid- Iio Ioprod, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. In a brake-beam of the character de scribed, consisting of two tie-rods and a trussrod supported at their middle point by a forked strut, a triple sleeve removably mounted upon and retaining together the extremities of said rods, an outwardly-extending annular iiange formed on the inner end of said sleeve, a V-shaped lug u'pon said sleeve abut- 2o ting against said ange, and a brake-hanger adapted to surround said sleeve and having a recess to receive said lug, substantially as specified.

4. A brake-beam consisting of a tie-bar composed of' two rods separated at their middie point, a double-inclined truss-rod, the extremities of the said tie-rods and truss-rod being brought together and united at their extremities by means ot' a removable sleeve 3o forming bearings for the brake-hanger and brake-head, and the said tie-rods being canibered from their middle point, substantially as described, u-'herebythe said sleeve-bearings are held a slight angle to the lon gi- 3 5 tudinal line of the beam.

5. A brake-beam consisting of three vrods trussed together at their middle point by means of a forked strut forming the fulcrum bar, the said rods being` brought together at 4o their extremities, a movable sleeve mounted upon and retaining said extremities together, and means for retaining said sleeve nermaliy in position upon the extremities of the rodsto form a seatV for the brake-head, substantially as and tor the purpose herein specified* 6. In a brake-beam of the character described, consisting of two main rods mounted in bearings formed at one end or" thc tulcrunr bar ,and a trussrod mounted in a bearing at 5o the opposite en d of said fulorum-bar and bent at its extremities io lie substantially parallel with the n iain rods, a triple sleeve' having a socket ot' a form to r ceive the extremities ot' the three rods, the said truss-rod extending entirely through said sleeve and provided with a screw-thread and nut, whereby the sleeve may be retained in place, substantially as and for-the purpose herein specified.

74. I'n a brake-,beam of the character de' 6o scribed, consisting ot' the two main rods and a truss-rod supported at their middle point by a forked strut, a triple sleeve mounted upon and retaining together the extremities of said rods, and an outwardly-extending annular flange formed on the inner end of said sleeve, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

S. In a brake-beam, in` combination with the main rods andtruss-rod,I a sleeve having a triple socket of aform to fit thc combined bulk of the several rods, the truss-rod extend ing entirelyT through the sleeve and providl-l at its outer projectii'ig end with a screw-thread and nut, a'nd the main 'rods abutting againstan upright shoulder formed near thc outer end of the sleeve by the termination of the portion of thc triple socket in which said rods are held, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

fl. In a brake-beam, in combination with the main rods and truss-rod, a triple sleeve mounted upon the outer united extremities of said rods and adapted to form a seat for'the brake-head, the truss-rod extending entirely through said sleeve and provided at its outer projecting extremity with a screw-thread and nut, and a flange-cap of larger diameter than the said sleeve and adapted to be held in pla-ee upon the outer extremity of the trussrod between said'nut and the outer end of the sleeve, substantiallyY as and Ytor the purpose herein specified.

lO. In a brake-beam, incombination with tliernaiu rods and truss-rod, a triple sleeve mounted upon the outer extremities of said rods and adapted to form a seat for the bra-kehead, th e tru ss-rod extending entirely through said sleeve and provided at its outer extremity with a screuthread and nut, a flange-cap of larger diameter than the said sleevek and adapted to be held in place upon the end of the truss-rod between said nut and the outer end face of the sleeve, the said sleeve having a groove formed across its outer end face, and

a correspomlinglyshaped feather' formed moans ot a chain or other suitable support,Y

substantially as and for the purpose-herein specified.

In testi mon y whereoin I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARVEY L. PRESTON, \\'itnesses:

F. D. HARDING, ED. A. HARDING.

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